Another year, another Chivas USA challenge for Galaxy

Yeah, yeah, another MLS season, another year in which a new-look, tricked-out Chivas USA will challenge the Galaxy for supremacy at StubHub Center.

It must be early spring. We’re hearing Chivas is vastly improved under a new coach, the Goats have added a couple of new pieces that will give the Galaxy a handful, and the Galaxy aren’t what they were.

And as Galaxy coach Bruce Arena says each time this year: “They’re an improved team but I would say this, it’s early for everybody in this league. We’re only in the first month of the season. We’ve only played two league matches.”

So does anything change in 2014? The first telling glance comes today at StubHub Center, where Chivas is the home team against its neighbor down the hall.

Even if Chivas (1-1-2) and the Galaxy (0-1-1) have barely shoved off on the new season, Chivas comes in with more momentum than it’s accustomed to having against the Galaxy, who scored a 5-0 victory the last time the teams met late in the 2013 season.

“I am pleased but not comfortable,” Chivas first-year coach Wilmer Cabrera said. “We all know, starting with the players, we have room to improve and we have to improve if we’d like to get better results and better performances.”

It hasn’t been too bad so far and two of the main reasons are midfielder Mauro Rosales and forward Erick “Cubo” Torres. Rosales, a star for three seasons in Seattle, has taken control of the playmaking duties and leads the league with three assists and Torres has scored a goal in each game to tie for the MLS lead with four goals.

That duo has been pesky to opponents. Rosales leads the league with fouls drawn with 17 and Torres has been fouled 15 times. Two of Torres’ goals have come on penalty kicks, so the Chivas attack has become vastly different than in years past.

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The Galaxy always have Robbie Keane and Landon Donovan to occupy defenses, but they’ll have to be more wary of Chivas this time around.

It starts with Rosales, the 33-year-old Argentine who had 12 goals and 34 assists as the team captain in Seattle.

“He’s a player that is always pushing us and supporting us,” Torres said. “You know that every single time he has the ball on his foot, he’s going to do something genius. You know he has the ability every time he has the ball to unbalance an opponent. His individual technique is amazing. Wherever he sets his eyes, he puts the ball. And that helps us to generate danger in set pieces and be able to score from difficult angles.”

The Galaxy, who have had injuries to key defenders A.J. DeLaGarza and James Riley to deal with, know what they’re up against.

“He’s dynamic, he’s crafty, he’s smart, he thinks ahead of the play,” Galaxy defender Todd Dunivant said of Rosales. “Before the ball comes to him, he’s already got an idea of what he wants to do. He’s decisive, aggressive.

“All these things mean that he makes plays. He makes important plays. You saw that with Seattle with him. When he was healthy, he was if not the best player on their team he was right up there. He’s a difference-maker. I’ll probably be matched up a lot against him and it’s going to be a great challenge.”

The Galaxy have been off for two weeks since a 1-1 tie with Real Salt Lake just after being eliminated from CONCACAF Champions League play. Keane has scored the club’s only goal in the MLS games.

This is the first of three meetings between the clubs this season. The Galaxy have dominated the series (18-4-6) and Chivas has not scored a victory in the rivalry since May of 2012, but the dynamic is different this season.

Chivas is no longer tethered to Guadalajara and is on course to be playing in its own stadium after this season. A victory this afternoon could go a long way in establishing the club as a true contender in MLS and not just an afterthought in the Galaxy’s building.

Despite the changes, Chivas is averaging only 7,502 per game in attendance. The last time the clubs met for a Chivas home game, 14,575 showed up.

“It’s special if you have 28,000 people there,” Keane said. “If there’s 7-8,000 people it’s a little bit different. To create a rivalry, it can’t be just about the game, but it’s about the whole buildup, the whole atmosphere.

“The atmosphere comes from people coming out and watching the game. If it was an L.A. Galaxy home game, you could guarantee a lot of fans there. I certainly hope there’s going to be a lot of Chivas fans there supporting the team. This is a good rivalry and if we want to compete at the highest level we need the Chivas fans here to support the team. I assume there will be a lot of people there. That’s me talking, not from a Galaxy point of view.”